Bridgwater businesses heard from the Cyber Resilience Centre that cyber-attacks are costing businesses thousands of pounds, with two thirds of businesses falling victim to phishing scams last year.

The Bridgwater Chamber of Commerce hosted a networking event with guest speaker Ross Brown, Head of Cyber and Innovation at the South West Cyber Resilience Centre.

Those present heard about some of the real cyber threats that businesses across the country are facing including phishing scams with malicious links, business e-mails being compromised (costing on average £60,000) and the new cybersecurity challenges that remote working brings.

Diogo Rodrigues, manager at the Bridgwater Chamber of Commerce said, “October is National Cyber Security awareness month and we’re keen to bring cyber security to the attention of local businesses. Cyber threats to businesses are very real and very much here. They’re not always on the top of our minds and sometimes by the time we think about it, it’s far too late.”

He adds, “We want businesses to shield themselves against potential cyber threats and the Cyber Resilience Centre offers free advice on best practice which we encourage businesses to sign up to.”

The South West Cyber Resilience Centre is led by serving police officers as part of a not-for-profit partnership with business and academia. Sign up for free membership here www.swcrc.co.uk

Photos by Jeff Searle